The former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce are due to appear at Southwark crown court in London on Friday, accused of perverting the course of justice.

The Liberal Democrat, 57, a former energy secretary, is alleged to have asked Pryce, 59, to take his penalty points for a speeding offence almost a decade ago.

Huhne, MP for Eastleigh in Hampshire, resigned from the cabinet after the Crown Prosecution Service announced on 3 February that he and Pryce would face charges.

His car was allegedly caught by a speed camera on the motorway between Stansted airport in Essex and London in March 2003.

Neither was required to enter a plea at an earlier hearing at the same court in March. The pair could face trial – expected to last no longer than two weeks – in the autumn after Friday's plea and case management hearing.